The Flower de Luce

The Flower de Luce was a shipping vessel which transported persons and supplies into the colony of Virginia.
One of its major merchants was George Menefie of James City, Virginia who gave his deposition in March of 1640, while a resident of the parish of St. Helens in London. At the time he stated that he was forty years of age. more The testimonies of a number of passengers was such that it was the opinion that if the vessel were not pumped day and night, that it would sink. Thomas Davis of Chuckatuck, Virgiia, also a merchant, aged 26, and others were on the voyage with George Menefie, apparently onboard the sister ship Bonny Bess, as well as Mr. Hugh Weston and Mr. Zachary Flute also en route to Virginia. Flute had already transported over one hundred persons onboard the Marchant's Hope on July 31 of 1635 and made his testimony before the Minister of Gravesend, as well as the ship's manifest.
Source: English Adventurers and Emigrants, Vol. I, by Peter Wilson Coldham; Public Record Office, London.

Land Patents Granted for Transporting Passengers

On March 6 of 1633, Thomas Davis, the son of James and Rachell Davis of Henrico County, patented 300 acres at Warresqueak on the basis of his parents headrights for transporting two people into the colony.

When County Records Burn

A trip into the area was worth a sack of gold! Nansemond County records burned, leaving nothing until about 1863. There was a lot going on in that region during the Revolutionary War and the War of 1812 when the British were known to have burned records in Washington, D. C. The only records before 1863 are the Fee Books, which are tax records. There was a lot of ink bleed-through in these books, however, they are worth the effort. The entries contain some helpful data. Here is an example: " Henry Holland the elder" and Henry Holland the junior". That separates the families and the generations. I was able to clarify much of my genealogy in this county by studying the fee books, then comparing them with the vestry records of the local church. The original land grants of course provide vague information. However, a trip to the area was worth a sack of gold. Using these three resources (plus using the local roads and viewing the actual setting and how the old homes were situated, I could follow the vestry records and determine property lines. Finally, I made a list of each person's acreage and followed them down through the years. When certain tracts were listed under another person with the same surname, it was obvious that was the heir! John Holland, a son of Gabriel Holland, the immigrant to Jamestown received a number of land patents in old Nansemond County. Of course, there is no longer a county, as it is part of Suffolk, Virginia. Yet, the rather large town of Holland, Virginia continues to thrive with the Holland descendants. The land grants stretched from Chuckatuck, Virginia to the North Carolina line. After examining the tax records and comparing those entries with the records of the parish church, it was easy to trace the various properties. The old dirt roads still existed when I visited there (now a peanut capitol) and land boundaries were rather prominent. Actual seeing the land visualizing the remains of old family homes and structures played heavily in the identification process. The land which once flourished with tobacco crops, was depleted before the American Revolution. Today, the loamy fine sand is ideal for growing peanut crops. As the lucrative tobacco crops disappeared, families moved on in search of more fertile soil.

Riddick of Nansemond County Virginia

The origin of the family was pre-revolutionary in Virginia and its members fought in the Revolutionary War, as well as encountered a skirmish with the British at Suffolk during the War of 1812. The British blockaded the Chesapeake Bay, however, in 1813, the Virginia Militia succeeded in preventing the British from taking Norfolk. As a result, the county records were destroyed. This genealogy is traced and is available to members in the "genealogy vault" of Georgia Pioneers

Boundary Changes Gave some of Nansemond County to North Carolina

Richard Parker patented 314 acres of land in Surry County on Blackwater Creek in 1670 and 100 acres in Nansemond County at Hood's Neck in 1676. In 1681, the three sons of Richard, viz: Thomas, Richard and Francis, were granted 1420 acres of land on the South branch of the Nansemond River at Parker's Creek left them by their father. Another, John Gordon received a land grant in 1701 for 330 acres on Orapeak Swamp in Upper Parish of Nansemond County. In 1728 the North Carolina boundary line was re-surveyed and a strip of 15 miles deep was added to North Carolina. That made the land fall into North Carolina, and Gates County is where the genealogist will discover the site of former homes of early colonists to Nansemond County.

Sir Thomas de Holande

Ancient de Holande of Lancashire

In 1634, the King of England directed the formation of eight shires (or counties) in the colony of Virginia. One of these was Elizabeth City Shire, which included land area on both sides of Hampton Roads. New Norfolk County was formed in 1636 from Elizabeth City Shire. It included all the area in South Hampton Roads. In 1637, New Norfolk County was divided into Upper Norfolk County and Lower Norfolk County and Upper Norfolk County became Nansemond County in 1646. Now an extinct county, Nansemond is part of the City of Suffolk, where the records are now located.

Note: All of the probate records burned during the Civil War. Nansemond County is no longer in existence. The records were sent to Suffolk, Virginia.